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American Tourist Dies After Being Shot By Stray Bullet In Brazil

American tourist Trey Barber, 28, died this Friday after being hit by a stray bullet in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. Barber got shot inside a friend’s apartment in the Cascadura neighborhood, north zone. He was trying to get the television remote control. Rival gangs were involved in a freeway shooting in a favela (slums) nearby.

Known for its beaches and mountains, Rio de Janeiro is the most popular tourist destination in Brazil. Also, the city is famous for its favelas, which are impoverished areas and home to about 1,4 million people (22% of Rio de Janeiro’s population).

The fatal incident occurred last Tuesday. The American tourist was rescued and taken to Hospital Salgado Filho.  He had surgery to remove the bullet. On Thursday, Barber had been transferred to a private hospital. He did not survive his injuries. The hospital confirmed his death.

Barber taught Portuguese in Los Angeles, where he lived. He had been on vacation at her friend’s house in Rio de Janeiro since July.

He was a researcher who graduated from UCLA (the University of California at Los Angeles), where he worked as an assistant professor.

Two other people were also injured during this shooting. The two people were inside a bus. The vehicle was passing through the region during the shooting. They were also initially taken to the same hospital where Barber was taken. Another man was found dead in the middle of the street.

The shooting started around 5:30 pm on Tuesday. The streets w, due to the return of the residents from work.  According to residents, the drug war in the region involves rival drug gangs that dispute the area for drug trafficking.

Travel Noire contacted The Rio de Janeiro City Police Department to ask for more information about the crime. In a statement, the RJPD informed that the investigation is ongoing to find the shooters.

“Due diligence continues to clarify the origin of the shot that hit the victim and identify the author of the crime”, says the police.

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• Travel Updates

Tourist shot dead after straying into Rio favela

A TOURIST who was looking for the beach has been shot dead by armed bandits in Rio after armed bandits thought he was a cop.

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A TOURIST who was looking for the beach when he strayed into a notorious slum in Rio de Janeiro has been shot dead there by drug traffickers.

Italian tourist Roberto Bardella, 52, and his cousin were riding on motorcycles in the Brazilian city when they mistakenly strayed into a favela.

Police said a group of armed bandits opened fire on the two travellers as they entered the Morro dos Prazeres favela in central Rio and forced them off their motorcycles.

Bardella was shot in the head and died while his cousin was held captive for a few hours before being released unharmed.

“They were in Rio as tourists, visiting the statue of Christ the Redeemer, and they consulted their GPS to find their way to the beach,” civil police spokesman Fabio Cardoso told reporters.

They took the wrong road and arrived in Morro dos Prazeres, Mr Cardoso said.

“They were accosted by traffickers. The victim was wearing a camera-mounted helmet, which the traffickers thought meant he was a police officer recording the incident, so they shot the victim, who died.”

Mr Bardella was the third Italian killed in Brazil in three weeks, Italy’s La Repubblica reported.

AFP reports that Mr Bardella and his cousin were travelling through South America on motorcycles and had arrived in Brazil after visiting Argentina and Paraguay.

Police have been attacked in the favela, which is near the scenic hilltop neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, several times in recent years.

The shooting comes amid an alarming rise in crime in Rio, despite efforts to reduce crime before the Brazil hosted the 2014 World Cup and Rio hosted the 2016 Olympics.

An economic crisis, rising unemployment and drained public security budgets have allowed drug traffickers and other criminal gangs to reclaim territory in many Rio neighbourhoods where police previously had the upper hand, according to Reuters.

In the lead-up to the Rio Olympics in August, the city’s police staged a series of protests, including at Rio’s international airport, warning visitors they were woefully under-resourced and ill-equipped to cope with the surging criminal activity .

This week Rio’s new Mayor-elect suggested introducing a bizarre “mugging tax” for tourists so they city could afford to pay compensation to visitors who become the victim of muggings and armed robberies.

Tourists are warned to avoid favelas in Brazil’s major cities, including Rio — even on organised tours.

“Crime levels in shanty towns or ‘favelas’ and many satellite cities are very high. Tourists should avoid these areas, even with a well-organised tour group, and especially at night,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says.

However, tourists say favelas that have been reclaimed by police are safer than others .

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Italian tourist shot dead after entering Rio slum on motorcycle

• Medium Text

Reporting by Paulo Prada; Editing by Alan Crosby

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The Americas

A raid in a rio favela left 18 dead, sparking renewed police violence complaints.

The Associated Press

A resident waves a white sheet in protest and to ask for peace after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

A resident waves a white sheet in protest and to ask for peace after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

RIO DE JANEIRO — A raid of Rio de Janeiro's largest complex of favelas that left at least 18 people dead has sparked renewed complaints of excessive police violence and ignited debate over how to handle crime ahead of state and presidential elections.

Rio authorities said 16 suspected criminals were killed in confrontations with police in Complexo do Alemao favela, or low-income community, along with a police officer and a woman. The raid targeted a criminal group that stole cars and robbed banks, and invaded nearby neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed intense shootouts between criminals as well as a police helicopter flying low over the small, brick houses. Rio's police have used helicopters to shoot at targets, even in densely populated residential areas, and video showed shots being fired from the favela at the aircraft.

At the site of the raid, Associated Press reporters saw residents carrying about 10 bodies as bystanders shouted, "We want peace!"

"It's a massacre inside, which police are calling an operation," one woman told AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from authorities. "They're not letting us help (victims)," she added, saying she saw one man arrested for attempting to do so.

Residents shout at police in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

Residents shout at police in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator with Rio's police force, said officials would have rather just made arrests of suspects "but unfortunately they chose to fire at our policemen."

Rio state Gov. Cláudio Castro, who is running for reelection in October, said on Twitter he lamented the police officer's death.

"I will continue to fight crime with all my strength. We will not back down from the mission of guaranteeing peace and security to the people of our state," Castro said.

In another tweet, Castro said his main rival in the elections, leftist Marcelo Freixo, defends criminals who attack police, "such an important institution that makes us so proud." Freixo responded that the governor "uses police to make politics."

The government's strategy for tackling violence and organized crime, an approach that regularly sees deadly police operations, has come under criticism. A raid in Rio's Vila Cruzeiro favela in May killed more than 20 people.

Security will be a key issue in Brazil's presidential elections in October

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"ENOUGH of this genocidal policy, governor!" Talíria Petrone, a federal lawmaker for Rio, said in response to the governor's tweet. "This failed public security policy leaves residents and police on the ground, en masse. It's no longer possible to keep piling up Black bodies and favela residents every day!"

Robert Muggah, co-founder of Igarapé Institute, a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank focused on security, said Thursday's raid is "a symptom of failed leadership and an institutional culture that condones excessive force."

"The killings resulting from large scale police operations is a grim reminder that militarized policing is not only ineffective, it is counterproductive," Muggah said in a text message, adding those raids generate "extreme violence predominantly affecting low-income Black populations while also corroding the trust between residents and law enforcement."

Police conduct an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

Police conduct an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

Alemao is a complex of 13 favelas in northern Rio, home to about 70,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of them at Black or biracial, according to a July 2020 study published by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economical Analyses.

Earlier this year, Brazil's Supreme Court established a series of conditions for police to conduct raids in Rio's favelas as a means to reduce police killings and human rights violations. The court ordered that lethal force be used only in situations in which all other means have been exhausted and when necessary to protect life.

The ruling came in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021 that resulted in 28 people being killed. As was the case Thursday, an officer died during that raid, which some speculated at the time was the cause for subsequent abuse and summary executions.

Latin America

U.n. calls for investigation as police in brazil kill at least 24 in rio drug raid.

Thursday's operation began before dawn and finished around 4 p.m. local time, police said. Nearly 400 police officers were involved, including Rio's tactical police unit, according to the police statement.

In a video shared by Voz da Comunidade, a community news outlet focused on Rio's favelas, residents can be seen calling for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and rooftops.

Fabrício Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the police raid, said authorities fear that Friday could be another violent day at the Complexo do Alemao.

"Our experience has told us that after raids like these police are attacked in every way," Oliveira said.

Human rights group Amnesty International said on Twitter that prosecutors must immediately investigate policemen involved in Thursday's raid.

"WHO WILL STOP Gov. Cláudio Castro and his disastrous and rights violating public security policies in Rio de Janeiro," the non-profit said. "Enough of so much brutality! THE FAVELA WANTS TO LIVE!"

• Rio de Janeiro

clock This article was published more than  3 years ago

Brazil shocked by warlike police raid that leaves 25 dead in Rio de Janeiro favela

RIO DE JANEIRO — At least 25 people were killed in a police raid Thursday morning in what police and researchers are calling one of the deadliest police shootings in the history of this notoriously violent oceanside metropolis.

Shortly after dawn, police entered the sprawling favela called Jacarezinho, sending in bulletproof helicopters, armored vehicles and dozens of heavily armed police officers to do battle in one of the strongholds of the powerful criminal gang, the Red Command. Police said the criminal group had been enticing children into their ranks.

The conflict dragged on for hours, as residents huddled inside their home, unable to leave. Images showed blood splashed across alleys and households, a room piled with bodies, and people scurrying across rooftops clutching rifles as black-clad police moved into the vast warren of squat brick houses.

By early afternoon, 25 people had been killed, including one police officer.

As police shootings in Rio rise, children are caught in the crossfire

Even in a city long accustomed to extraordinary police violence, where authorities frequently wage warlike operations inside neighborhoods under the control of criminal organizations, the death toll was shocking, showing the enduring grip of violence on Latin America’s largest country.

“Really grim moment in Brazil,” said Robert Muggah, co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a Rio-based think tank that tracks trends in violence. “These shootings are obviously routine in Rio de Janeiro, but this is unprecedented, in that it’s the operation that has generated the largest number of deaths, ever.”

He called it a “dangerous reminder of the persistence of police violence in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.”

In a statement published to social media, police mourned the death of the officer, Andre Leonardo de Mello Frias. Police said the operation was launched based on “concrete intelligence information.”

Black man’s death after savage beating by security guards outrages Brazil

“The criminals reacted forcefully,” police said in a statement . “Not only to flee, but with intent to kill. Unfortunately, the warlike scenario imposed by these criminal groups proved the importance of these operations so that they don’t grow stronger.”

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Police violence and crime has in recent years been one of Brazil’s most polarizing political discussions. Police forces kill thousands of Brazilians every year, the overwhelming majority of whom are Black and poor. In 2019 alone, police killed some 5,800 people .

The violent operations have been encouraged by a cadre of political leaders who have won recent elections running on a message that warlike tactics are necessary to curb crime and regain control of territories lost to gangs. “A cop who doesn’t kill isn’t a cop,” President Jair Bolsonaro once said .

But Thursday’s death toll has left many in the country shocked and outraged. Some questioned whether police were flouting a court ruling last year that forbade them from storming favelas during the pandemic unless under “absolutely exceptional” circumstances. Others said the brief respite in police violence that held in the early months of the pandemic was largely over. And others still called it a large-scale execution.

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“In this badly-planned operation a police officer was killed,” said Silvia Ramos, a social scientist at University Candido Mendes. “And this operation became one of revenge. And police simply killed more than 20 people.”

Renata Souza, a state representative raised in Complexo da Maré, a dangerous and large favela frequently targeted by police, called the liberalization of police violence a “policy of death.”

“Security police should be about justice and not vengeance,” she tweeted Thursday . “The governor of Rio is following in the steps of the president and is making genocide a state policy.”

Heloísa Traiano contributed to this report.

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21 killed in latest police raid on Rio favela

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – An anti-crime operation in a Rio de Janeiro slum left 21 people dead Tuesday, officials said, a year after the bloodiest-ever favela raid in the city's history.

Issued on: 24/05/2022 - 21:52 Modified: 24/05/2022 - 21:50

Health officials put the toll at 20, with seven hospitalized, while police counted another victim -- a female bystander felled by a stray bullet.

Military police said they came under gunfire as they approached the northern Rio slum called Vila Cruzeiro in the early morning hours with the mission of locating and arresting "criminal leaders."

The toll nearly doubled from the initially reported 11 deaths as more bodies were uncovered in the aftermath.

Police said at least 11 of the dead were "suspects."

At least 19 schools in the area closed because of the gunfire, residents said.

Police helicopters were also struck by bullets during the deadly exchange.

Police often carry out raids in Rio's teeming slums in a bid to fight drug trafficking.

This time, they said they were looking for gang leaders from other parts of Brazil hiding out in Vila Cruzeiro.

"It was an operation planned for weeks, but we identified criminal movements during the night and decided to intervene," said team member Colonel Luiz Henrique Marinho Pires.

He said the suspects were readying to move to another favela.

This was the deadliest police raid since 28 people died a year ago in a favela called Jacarezinho -- the largest such toll in the city's history.

Vila Cruzeiro, a favela crowded onto a hillside not far from Rio de Janeiro's international airport, was also the scene of a violent confrontation in February, when police killed eight people.

Tuesday's pre-dawn raid targeted the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, one of Brazil's most powerful crime gangs "responsible for more than 80 percent of the shootings in Rio," a police spokesman told TV Globo.

No body cams

Officers seized 13 assault rifles, four pistols, 20 motorcycles and 10 cars in the raid.

No arrests were reported.

The operation was criticized in some quarters for its use of overwhelming force.

"Another massacre. Schools closed, thousands of people terrorized," tweeted left-wing city councilman Tarcisio Motta.

"The policy of extermination runs its course in Rio."

Residents and activists have often denounced official abuse, including extrajudicial killings of suspects, which they say often goes unpunished.

"These operations in the favelas put the entire population at risk and prevent the functioning of public services. We know they would never be tolerated in upscale neighborhoods," Guilherme Pimentel, a public defender, told AFP.

Rio police officers were meant to start wearing cameras on their uniforms this month to film all acts in the line of duty, but use of the equipment has been postponed.

Security experts believe cameras may help prevent abuse but will not solve all the problems, and their introduction should be accompanied by comprehensive police reform.

Experts advocate for abandoning confrontation in the endless fight against drug trafficking, with a focus instead on disrupting the gangs' money flow.

"Rio needs a new public safety policy that is not the bullet," Human Rights Watch said.

Brazilian police are among the world's deadliest, responsible for more than 6,100 fatalities in 2021 -- an average of 17 per day, according to a violence monitor count.

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Police raid in Brazil that killed at least 18 stirs outrage over use of force

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A raid of Rio de Janeiro’s largest complex of shantytowns that left at least 18 people dead has sparked renewed complaints of excessive police violence and ignited debate over how to handle crime ahead of state and presidential elections.

Rio authorities said 16 suspects were killed in confrontations with police in the Complexo do Alemao favelas, or shantytowns, along with a police officer and a woman. The raid targeted a criminal group that stole cars, robbed banks and invaded nearby neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed intense shootouts as well as a police helicopter flying low over the small brick houses. Rio’s police have used helicopters to shoot at targets, even in densely populated residential areas, and video showed shots being fired from the favelas at the aircraft.

At the site of the raid, reporters saw residents carrying about 10 bodies as bystanders shouted, “We want peace!”

“It’s a massacre inside, which police are calling an operation,” said one woman, speaking on condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from authorities. “They’re not letting us help” victims, she added, saying that she saw one man arrested for attempting to do so.

Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator with Rio’s police force, said officials would have rather just made arrests of suspects, “but unfortunately they chose to fire at our policemen.”

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Rio state Gov. Claudio Castro, who is running for reelection in October, said on Twitter that he lamented the police officer’s death.

“I will continue to fight crime with all my strength. We will not back down from the mission of guaranteeing peace and security to the people of our state,” Castro said.

In another tweet, Castro said his main rival in the election, leftist Marcelo Freixo, defends criminals who attack police, “such an important institution that makes us so proud.”

Freixo responded that the governor “uses police to make politics.”

The government’s strategy for tackling violence and organized crime, an approach that regularly sees deadly police operations, has come under criticism. A raid in Rio’s Vila Cruzeiro favela in May killed more than 20 people .

Police shootout at Rio de Janeiro favela kills more than 20

Police in Rio de Janeiro have raided the Vila Cruzeiro favela in an operation that set off a fierce firefight.

May 24, 2022

Brazil will also hold presidential elections in October , with security a key issue and President Jair Bolsonaro touting a tough-on-crime approach.

“ENOUGH of this genocidal policy, governor!” Taliria Petrone, a federal lawmaker for Rio, said in response to the governor’s tweet. “This failed public security policy leaves residents and police on the ground, en masse. It’s no longer possible to keep piling up Black bodies and favela residents every day!”

Robert Muggah, co-founder of Igarape Institute, a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank focused on security, said Thursday’s raid is “a symptom of failed leadership and an institutional culture that condones excessive force.”

“The killings resulting from large-scale police operations is a grim reminder that militarized policing is not only ineffective, it is counterproductive,” Muggah said in a text message, adding that those raids generate “extreme violence predominantly affecting low-income Black populations while also corroding the trust between residents and law enforcement.”

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Alemao is a complex of 13 favelas in northern Rio that are home to about 70,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of them are Black or biracial, according to a July 2020 study published by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economical Analyses.

Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court established a series of conditions for police to conduct raids in Rio’s favelas as a means to reduce police killings and human rights violations. The court ordered that lethal force be used only in situations in which all other means have been exhausted and when necessary to protect life.

The ruling came in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021 that resulted in 28 people being killed. As was the case Thursday, an officer died during that raid, which some speculated at the time was the cause for subsequent abuse and executions.

Thursday’s operation began before dawn and finished about 4 p.m. local time, police said. Nearly 400 officers were involved, including Rio’s tactical police unit, according to police.

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In a video shared by Voz da Comunidade, a community news outlet focused on Rio’s favelas, residents can be seen calling for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and rooftops.

Fabricio Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the police raid, said authorities fear that Friday could be another violent day at the Complexo do Alemao.

“Our experience has told us that after raids like these police are attacked in every way,” Oliveira said.

Human rights group Amnesty International said on Twitter that prosecutors must immediately investigate police officers involved in Thursday’s raid.

“WHO WILL STOP Gov. Claudio Castro and his disastrous and rights-violating public security policies in Rio de Janeiro,” the organization said. “Enough of so much brutality! THE FAVELA WANTS TO LIVE!”

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At least 11 dead in Brazilian police raid in favela: Authorities

Police say early-morning raid in Rio de Janeiro favela community aimed to capture leaders of drug-trafficking group.

At least 11 people have been fatally shot in a Brazilian police raid in an impoverished favela community on the north side of Rio de Janeiro, authorities have said.

Police said Tuesday’s early-morning raid in the Vila Cruzeiro favela aimed to capture the leaders of a drug-trafficking organisation.

Keep reading

Brazil: police launch major operation in impoverished rio favela, ‘stop killing us’: rio favela residents demand answers after raid, death toll from police raid in rio de janeiro favela rises to 28.

The deaths included a woman who was hit in an exchange of gunfire. Police said 10 suspected gang members who resisted the operation and opened fire on police with automatic weapons were also killed.

“It was a very intense confrontation,” Colonel Ivan Blaz, spokesman for the militarised police force that led the operation, told reporters. He said the woman could have been hit by a shot fired from inside Vila Cruzeiro.

Residents said on social media that heavy shooting began in darkness at 4am local time (07:00 GMT) in a wooded area next to the community, causing fear and panic.

Vila Cruzeiro, a favela crowded onto a hillside not far from Rio de Janeiro’s international airport, had already been the scene of violent confrontation in February, when police killed eight people.

Tuesday’s raid was the latest fatal police operation in a Rio de Janeiro favela, the likes of which have prompted concerns from rights groups for years.

Last May, more than two dozen people were killed in a raid in the city’s Jacarezinho favela.

That operation prompted outrage and protests among residents, who said they felt terrorised and trapped in their community, and prompted calls for an independent investigation from human rights organisations and United Nations officials.

“We remind the Brazilian authorities that the use of force should be applied only when strictly necessary, and that they should always respect the principles of legality, precaution, necessity and proportionality,” a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in May 2021 about that specific incident.

“Lethal force should be used as a last resort and only in cases where there is an imminent threat to life or of serious injury.”

Tuesday’s operation in Vila Cruzeiro was criticised for its use of overwhelming force.

“Another massacre. Schools closed, thousands of people terrorised,” left-wing city councilman Tarcisio Motta wrote on Twitter. “The policy of extermination runs its course in Rio.”

Brazilian news website G1 said the Vila Cruzeiro raid targeted the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, one of Brazil’s most powerful crime gangs.

Police said there were gunfights in high-ground areas of the favela itself and in wooded grounds surrounding it.

Police seized seven assault rifles, five pistols, 10 motorcycles and six cars in Tuesday’s raid.

Brazilian police are among the world’s deadliest, responsible for more than 6,100 fatalities in 2021, or an average of 17 per day, according to the G1 violence monitor’s count in partnership with the University of Sao Paulo and the non-governmental Public Safety Forum.

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Italian tourist killed in favela in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro

Two motorcycles that belonged to Italian tourists that were touring South America are picked up and taken away by authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Dec.8, 2016. Police say Italian tourist Roberto Bardella was killed by alleged drug traffickers as he drove his bike by one of the entrance of the Morro dos Prazeres favela. Rio de Janeiro police said another Italian tourist named Rino Polato was found early in the day unharmed at an entrance to the Morro dos Prazeres favela. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) (The Associated Press)

A bloody surgical glove is seen at the site where the body of Italian tourist Roberto Bardella was left by alleged traffickers at one of the entrance of the Morro dos Prazeres favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. Police say Bardella was killed in a favela near the center of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro in an area fought over by rival drug trafficking gangs. Rio de Janeiro police said another Italian tourist named Rino Polato was found early in the day unharmed at an entrance to the Morro dos Prazeres favela. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) (The Associated Press)

A bloody surgical glove is seen at the site where the body of Italian tourist Roberto Bardella was left by alleged traffickers at one of the entrance of the Morro dos Prazeres favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. Police say Bardella was killed in a favela near the center of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro in an area fought over by rival drug trafficking gangs. Rio de Janeiro police identified the dead tourist as Bardella and said another Italian tourist named Rino Polato was found early in the day unharmed at an entrance to the Morro dos Prazeres favela. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) (The Associated Press)

RIO DE JANEIRO – An Italian tourist was killed Thursday in a shantytown near the center of Rio de Janeiro in an area fought over by rival drug trafficking gangs, police said.

Authorities identified the dead man as Roberto Bardella and said another Italian tourist, Rino Polato, was found unharmed at an entrance to the Morro dos Prazeres favela early in the day.

The men were touring South America on motorcycles that were found in the favela, officials said. Investigators believe the Italians got lost in the favela.

The city's pacification effort has a police station in the slum, but the program has been deeply affected by budget cuts amid a financial crisis for the Rio de Janeiro state government.

Police have been attacked in the favela several times in recent years.

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Death toll mounts in Rio de Janeiro as police lose control of the city – and of themselves

Coordinator, Centre for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship, Universidade Candido Mendes (UCAM)

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Silvia Ramos receives funding from the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations.

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On June 30, a baby was shot in his mother’s belly in Rio de Janeiro. After the rifle fire hit 29-year-old Claudinéia in the hip in the Favela do Lixão neighbourhood, her son Arthur was delivered via emergency cesarean section. He will be a paraplegic for life.

This was just one of 181 shootings that took place in Rio that June week . A day earlier, Marlene Maria da Conceição, age 72, was shot in the Mangueira favela while picking up her grandson from school . Her daughter, Ana Cristina, 49, was struck when she tried to help her mother. Both women died.

Just hours before her death, Ana Cristina had called the violence in her neighbourhood “unbelievable” on social media , posting that the “shooting has been going on for nearly three hours.”

Two days earlier, Fabio, a doorman returning home from work, was killed by shrapnel from a grenade at the entrance to the Pavão-Pavãozinho favela , a stone’s throw from Ipanema and Copacabana, two of Rio’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

Even in Brazil, where homicides are all too common , Rio de Janeiro’s crime rate is stunning. It is now impossible not to notice that the city’s Police Pacification Units (UPP), once a much-vaunted anti-violence force, have all but collapsed.

• Community policing

Launched nine years ago, the UPP program stationed some 9,500 officers in some 37 favelas , serving nearly 780,000 people.

This new model, which included components of successful community policing initiatives in Los Angeles and Medellin sought to end violent confrontations between rival gangs, and between police and gangs, by getting weapons out of the favelas and maintaining a permanent police presence.

At first, the media and the public loved the program. Rio saw a significant reduction in robberies in UPP-covered areas and a marked decrease in police killings, which fell from 1,330 in 2007 to 415 in 2013.

Some favela activists and human rights advocates viewed the UPPs as military occupation of low-income neighbourhoods, and predicted that the plan would fail . But the UPPs worked, or seemed to be working, keeping many areas of the city nearly free of shootouts, stray bullets and police killings from 2009 to 2013 .

The bad old days

This was a significant improvement over prior policing strategies in Rio. For two decades, the Rio police had one mission – to weed out the armed groups that had set up shop in all of the city’s 700 favelas – and one method to do it with – firepower.

By the late 1980s, gangs had essentially established territorial control over 1.5 Rio million residents, some 22% of the city’s population. Criminal groups such as the Red Command and The Third Command monopolised not only the drug trade in these areas but also other lucrative activities, such as cooking-fuel sales and alternative public transport.

The groups, which are operating again today, patrolled the streets and alleyways of Rio’s favelas , keeping both police and rival gangs out.

In 1995, the Rio de Janeiro state government hired an army general to try to control crime in the metropolitan region, and the city launched a series of public security policies meant to aggressively confront gangs in some of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, not with investigation or intelligence but with guns .

In short, it has been the war on drugs gone local.

Rather than fix the problem, research shows that these programs were largely responsible for more firmly rooting gangs in these places .

The demise of the UPPs

The UPPs were supposed to change all this, and for a while there they did. So what happened?

Based on studies done by the Centre for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship at Brazil’s Candido Mendes University, it appears that, over time, police officers in favelas have gradually reduced the practice of community policing and become more repressive.

The program’s decline happened gradually but, in retrospect, the 2013 disappearance of bricklayer Amarildo de Souza while in UPP custody in Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio’s wealthy south side, was an inflection point.

Tension between the police and residents rose across the city, but the police did not respond by updating program’s strategies, investing in training or renewing the force’s commitment to keep community policing at the heart of the UPPs .

By 2015, armed gangs had returned to once-pacified favelas such as Morro do Borel in swanky Tijuca, Morro dos Prazeres in bohemian Santa Teresa, and Favela Tabajaras in upscale Copacabana. The UPPs were faltering.

Any remaining vestiges of the mirage of safety crumbled once the Olympics ended, with skirmishes erupting between rival factions or Rio’s gangs – a “signal” for the groups to again take up heavy weaponry.

License to kill

The military police find themselves cornered in the favelas .

The force’s historic disregard for intelligence has come back to haunt it. Lacking sound information and data, young captains are forced to rely on their intuition to deal with the encroaching gangs, choosing between either daily shootouts or a hostile coexistence between gangs and police, depending on the favela .

Feeling stuck, angry and lost, police shoot frequently. At least 480 Rio de Janeiro citizens were killed by police in the first five months of this year alone.

The animation below by Amnesty International’s Fogo Cruzado (Crossfire) app documents all the gunfire in Rio from January to June 2017 – an average of 14 incidents daily.

The license to kill any favela resident perceived to be a criminal has given way to summary executions, which last year represented some 20% of all deaths in the state of Rio de Janeiro .

Cops also kidnap suspects , take bribes to overlook crimes and negotiate to save the lives of criminals, exacerbating violence .

In fairness, things aren’t great for the police right now. Brazil is immersed in a profound economic crisis , so the police haven’t been paid in months. The force can’t even afford to fill its police cruisers with gas.

Operating in dangerous neighbourhoods with little support or guidance from their commanders, UPP officers have reverted to the bad old days of excessive force and full-blown corruption.

The gangs, meanwhile, are following suit: they’re heavily armed, ambitious and bellicose. From January to June 2017, 81 Rio officers were killed (15 while on duty) . Rio de Janeiro’s police kill and die more than any other Brazilian police force.

Amid these hellish conditions, young people in the favelas are starting to speak out. Increasingly, they’re greeted by press coverage and a large audience on social media .

People know what needs to happen first: the police must stop shooting. Then, to dismantle not just the gangs but also the gang mentality burgeoning among Rio’s police, the city must invest in intelligence.

The answer is not new, but it is globally tried and true : to reduce violence, reform the police.

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Fifth Tourist Dead in 4 Days While Visiting Panama City Beach as Authorities Issue Warnings to Swimmers

Debbie Szymanski, 60, was found unresponsive in the water off Panama City Beach on Sunday, June 23

Aileen Perilla/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A Missouri tourist was found unresponsive in the waters off a Florida beach and pronounced dead at the hospital, becoming the fifth tourist to die within four days.

Debbie Szymanski, 60, was swimming in the waters around 11:30 a.m. on June 23, when family members realized she was unresponsive and began "to bring her to shore," the Bay County Sheriff's Office’s wrote in a statement on Facebook .

“Szymanski was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased,” police added.

Her official cause of death has not yet been released.

Earlier that day, authorities warned visitors on Facebook to “stay out of the water.” They also confirmed that the water conditions were “too dangerous right now to swim” and explained that “the water can appear calm but underneath currents are treacherous.” 

Her death came two days after three men from Alabama were rescued from the water on June 21, but died at the hospital, per the Bay County Sheriff's Office .

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"The three [men] arrived with their group of friends in Bay County yesterday just before 8 p.m.” and ended up getting caught in a rip current shortly after entering the water, police said.

"I have such a heavy heart this morning about the loss of three young visitors to our community,” Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford added in a statement . “[I’m] praying for their family and ask that you do the same. It is such a tragedy.”

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The three men were identified by police as Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, and Jemonda Ray and Marius Richardson, both 24, according to  AL.com ,  CNN  and  Alabama TV station WALA .

According to verified GoFundMe accounts from their relatives, the three men, all fathers , were visiting the area from Alabama.

On June 23, a teenager from Oklahoma, identified as Ryker Milton, also died after getting caught in a rip current, per ABC affiliate KOCO-TV and Fox affiliate KOKI-TV .

Authorities issued another warning on June 25, telling swimmers to be careful amid the strong currents.

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Rio police raid on favela kills at least 18, sparks anger

Residents use a cart to transport a body after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A woman shouts in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A resident waves a white sheet in protest and to ask for peace after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A police takes part in an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Multiple deaths were reported during the raid that was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents shout at police in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Police conduct an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Multiple deaths were reported during the raid that was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A resident waves a white sheet in protest after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A resident comforts a wounded man as he is placed in the back of a truck after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents carry a body wrapped in a cloth to a waiting vehicle after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio’s largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents transport a wounded man in the back of a truck after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents place a wounded man in the back of a truck after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents place a wounded man on a dolly after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Police drive through a banner with a message that reads in Portuguese: “Out from the favela killer police”, that was being held by residents in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A police officer works to remove tires set on fire by residents to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents walk holding a banner with a message that reads in Portuguese: “Out from the favela killer police”, after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A military vehicle drives past as residents gather to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents gather to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A military vehicle drives past tires set on fire by residents to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A police operation Thursday targeting gang members in Rio de Janeiro’s largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, left at least 18 people dead in one of the deadliest raids the city has seen recently and one already bringing more criticism of police violence.

Rio authorities said 16 suspected criminals were killed in confrontations with police in Complexo do Alemao along with a police officer and an woman. A police spokesman said the raid targeted a criminal group that stole cars and robbed banks, and invaded nearby neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed intense shootouts between criminals as well as a police helicopter flying low over the small, brick houses. Rio’s police have used helicopters to shoot at targets, even in densely populated residential areas, and video showed shots being fired from the favela at the aircraft.

At the site of the raid, Associated Press reporters saw residents carrying about 10 bodies as bystanders shouted, “We want peace!” Residents said those who attempted to help the injured risked arrest.

“It’s a massacre inside, which police are calling an operation,” one woman told AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from authorities. ”They’re not letting us help (victims),” she added, saying she saw one man arrested for attempting to do so.

A Rio’s police force spokesman said some of the criminals wore uniforms to disguise themselves as police officers.

“I would rather they (the suspects) had not reacted and then we could have arrested 15, 14 of them. But unfortunately they chose to fire at our policemen,” said Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator of Rio’s police.

Rio state Gov. Cláudio Castro said on Twitter he lamented the police officer’s death.

“I will continue to fight crime with all my strength. We will not back down from the mission of guaranteeing peace and security to the people of our state,” Castro said.

But many disagree with the government’s strategy for tackling violence and organized crime, an approach that regularly sees deadly police operations . A raid in Rio’s Vila Cruzeiro favela in May killed more than 20 people.

Thursday’s operation was aimed at locating and arresting criminal leaders, some from other states, police said in an early statement.

“ENOUGH of this genocidal policy, governor!” Talíria Petrone, a federal lawmaker for Rio, said in response to the governor’s tweet. “This failed public security policy leaves residents and police on the ground, en masse. It’s no longer possible to keep piling up Black bodies and favela residents every day!”

Alemao is a complex of 13 favelas in northern Rio, home to about 70,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of them are Afro-Brazilians, according to a July 2020 study published by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economical Analyses.

Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court established a series of conditions for police to conduct raids in Rio’s favelas as a means to reduce police killings and violations of human rights. The court ordered that lethal force be used only in situations in which all other means have been exhausted and when necessary to protect life.

The ruling came in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021 that resulted in 28 people being killed. As was the case Thursday, an officer died during that raid, which some speculated at the time was the cause for subsequent abuse and summary executions.

Thursday’s operation began before dawn and finished around 4 p.m. local time, police said. Nearly 400 police officers were involved, including Rio’s tactical police unit, backed up by four helicopters and 10 bullet-proofed vehicles, according to the police statement.

In a video shared by Voz da Comunidade, a community news outlet focused on Rio’s favelas, residents can be seen calling for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and rooftops.

Fabrício Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the police raid, said authorities fear that Friday could be another violent day at the Complexo do Alemao.

“Our experience has told us that after raids like these police are attacked in every way,” Oliveira said.

____ AP journalist Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

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Fifth tourist in four days dies in waters off same florida beach town.

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The fifth tourist in just four days died in the waters off the same Florida beach town on Sunday.

A 60-year-old woman visiting the Sunshine State from Missouri was the latest victim of the sea’s dangerous riptides in Panama City Beach.

Her death came after three men drowned on Friday — one day after a teen died in the Gulf waters.

In the latest tragedy, Debbie Szymanski of St. Louis was enjoying the beach near the Carillon neighborhood with her family when they realized she was not responding after going out for a swim around 11:30 a.m., the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

Family members grabbed her and began bringing her to shore as sheriff’s deputies and EMS rushed in. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Two days earlier, three young dads from Birmingham, Alabama, were killed just minutes after arriving at an Airbnb they had rented with a group of six for a vacation in Panama City Beach.

The friends — Harold Denzel Hunter, 25, Jemonda Ray, 24, and Marius Richardson, 24 — checked into their rental near the Watercress Condominiums on the beach just before 8 p.m. and rushed into the ocean for a quick dip, according to the sheriff’s office.

Within minutes, all three got caught in a rip current.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Services, Coast Guard and Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission all responded and searched the dark waters from ground level and from above, using helicopters.

The three men were all eventually found and pulled from the water, but all three died at local hospitals, the sheriff’s office said.

“The acts of courage by first responders were amazing,” Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a statement. “Many of our rescue swimmers with the Sheriff’s Office, Bay County Emergency Services and Panama City Beach went into the dark and dangerous waters for over two hours to attempt to rescue and search for the young men.

“I worry about the emotional toll that these situations take on first responders as I know I’m struggling with it as well,” he added.

Their deaths shook the local community and first responders.

“I have such a heavy heart this morning about the loss of three young visitors to our community,” Ford said the following day. “I’m praying for their family and ask that you do the same. It is such a tragedy.”

Ray and Richardson were cousins who grew up like brothers and Hunter was their friend, family members told AL.com .

Ray was the dad of a toddler son and worked at Amazon, Richardson was a married father of a 2-year-old son, and Hunter was a dad of a young son and daughter, according to the local outlet.

Ray’s girlfriend and Richardson’s wife were also on the trip.

The first of the five victims, 19-year-old Ryker Milton, died Thursday evening after he went out for a swim and got caught in a current, local ABC affiliate station KOCO News reported.

Milton, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was with a friend at the beach around 4 p.m. when a rip current caught him, the station reported.

Lifeguards pulled him from the gulf and began life-saving measures on the beach before he was brought to an area hospital in critical condition. He died in the emergency room, Panama City officials told the station.

The teen was a star soccer player at Hilldale High School, from which he graduated in 2023, according to online tributes.

“Today, we lost one of the most special kids to come through our program. It’s so hard to describe this young man in words that will do his life justice,” Hilldale Soccer said in a Facebook post. “From all of the coaches, players, parents, and more, we love you Ryker. It was an honor to coach you, play with you, and cheer you on. You changed all of our lives. We will miss you so much.”

The sheriff’s office and other officials have repeatedly warned people to stay out of the gulf waters if red flags are posted.

“PLEASE STAY OUT OF THE WATER,” Ford posted on Facebook Sunday after Szymanski was brought ashore. “The water can appear calm but underneath currents are treacherous today. It’s just too dangerous right now to swim.”

The five victims were all swimming when either double or single red flags were posted on beaches.

Double red flags indicate “extremely dangerous conditions” and that no one should be swimming as the water is closed. Single red flags indicated “high hazard conditions with high surf and/or currents.”

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